


(500) Days of Roxas

by teaandtumblr



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: But not always, Dating, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, High School, M/M, Not Canon Compliant - Kingdom Hearts III, Teen Romance, Teenage Drama, Twilight Town (Kingdom Hearts), and by that i mean the ending, just guys being dudes, mentions of sexual situations, partially canon compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23975857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandtumblr/pseuds/teaandtumblr
Summary: "Sora...you're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is...over."Except, it wasn't always over. In fact, there was a lot of it Roxas enjoyed.
Relationships: Hayner & Olette & Pence & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts), Hayner/Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	(500) Days of Roxas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ofredheadsandreasons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ofredheadsandreasons/gifts).



> basically, no fucks were given as to how long Roxas was actually in the digital Twilight Town. The need for teen romance was too strong.

  
  


***

(1)

“Hey, hey, Roxas!”

Roxas’ head jerked up from where he was absently staring across the Sandlot. Pence was waving a hand in his face while Hayner looked borderline ready to slap him over the head. Olette was the only one with a shred of sympathy in her expression, leaning down to rest a hand on his shoulder.

“You okay? Sitting out in this heat isn’t going to do you any good.”

Hayner scoffed. “It’s not even that hot. And besides, Roxas’ brain is fried enough as it is.”

“Hey!” Roxas cried in protest because it felt natural to do. He then bit his tongue, eyebrows furrowing. What? _Was_ this natural?

“Ugh, again?” Hayner complained, shaking his head in disbelief. “C’mon Roxas. Sometimes I wonder how your head even works.”

“Must be hard to understand,” Pence said, winking at Roxas before adding, “Seeing as how you don’t have a brain of your own.”

Hayner squawked while Olette giggled, hand tightening a bit on Roxas’ shoulder. Roxas took comfort in the weight, hesitantly reaching up to wrap a hand around the slim wrist. “Olette,” he said, as if trying out of the word for the first time, which didn’t make _sense_ because he’d grown up here. These were his best friends. “Hayner. Pence.”

“Hello Roxas,” Olette said, clearly fighting back a smile. “Or should I say hello sleepyhead?”

Roxas blushed even as Hayner was knocking Olette’s hand away and pulling Roxas to his feet. “Okay, no more sun for you. Let’s go find somewhere cool to crash, at least until it’s time to do homework.”

“It’s already time to do that,” Pence pointed out but Roxas knew Hayner was going to ignore him.

How he knew that...that he’d never know.

***

(2)

Roxas knew a few things about Twilight Town. One, he’d lived there his whole life. Two, his parents worked abroad, whatever that meant. Take the train to the seaside and then keep going was all they’d ever told him and all he told anyone else when they asked. They still provided for him though and he didn’t mind the solitude so it was okay. Three, he had three friends; Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Four, the four of them had been inseparable since kindergarten and were still together in their first year of Sunset Heights, the only high school around.

He’d known these things for as long as he could remember. And he’d never forget them. That’s just how it was. 

All in all, it was a good life.

***

(15)

Roxas hissed at the scrape on his leg. It wasn’t bad but it had taken a lot of skin off. There was blood basically from his knee to his ankle. Maybe trying that new skateboard move on one of the harsher surfaces of Twilight Town wasn’t the best idea. His board was lying several feet away, where it would probably stay until Roxas either hobbled to his feet or Hayner came back to look for him. Which he would...once he firmly established he’d won their race and then realised something was wrong. 

Judging the amount of course left to go...Yeah, Hayner wouldn’t be back for awhile. Sighing, Roxas reached into his backpack and pulled out his gym uniform top. He cleaned the graze best he could with the little water left in his water bottle and then wrapped the limb up, hoping the sweat on his uniform wouldn’t cause a problem later. 

Pulling it tight, Roxas managed to get a foot under himself and used that to push himself up. His leg throbbed at being straightened but there was nothing more he could do, pushing through it and limping over to where his board was. He scooped it up and made the long trek down towards the commons, only stopping halfway when Hayner bumped into him. He took one look at Roxas before snorting. 

“Really man?”

Roxas just hit him.

Hayner rolled his eyes, slinging Roxas’ arm over his shoulder and helping him hobble back to his house. It was only when they were in the bathroom together and Roxas was peeling back the shirt that Hayner hissed.

“Roxas, what the hell? Dude, why were you walking on that?”

“Oh, like you were gonna carry me,” Roxas said, tossing the shirt into the bathtub. “It’s fine. Just big.”

“Stop toughing it out,” Hayner drawled, pushing him onto the toilet lid and reaching under the sink for the first aid kit. “Gravel rash hurts like anything.”

That was certainly true, Roxas having to grit his teeth as Hayner wiped it down and checked to make sure there was no actual gravel trapped under the skin before applying antiseptic spray which made Roxas want to scream blue murder. He then wrapped a bandage around it, sealing it off with a piece of tape. 

“Come on, we should probably get ice on that.”

Roxas nodded and went to stand before looking into the bathtub once more. “Huh. Hey Hayner, how do you get blood out of clothes?”

Hayner blinked at him before grimacing. Roxas sighed. “I’ll call Olette.”

(Cold water, it seemed, was the answer.)

***

(53)

Their teacher had barely finished telling them to split into pairs when Roxas felt a chair ram into his desk. Looking up, Roxas bit down a smirk at exactly who had rammed their chair into him. Someone who was rocking precariously back and smiling at him from upside down. 

“Hey Hayner.”

“Hey. So, what should we write about?”

“We? Oh, I was thinking about working with Vivi.”

Hayner gaped at him before his chair slipped, dumping him on the floor unceremoniously. Maybe Roxas should have felt bad and maybe he did, but that didn’t mean he didn’t laugh first. And then again when he repeated the story to Pence and Olette. Or when he was alone that night.

***

(79)

Roxas loved Pence’s floor. It was probably a weird thing to like but it was true. The Usual Spot was unforgiving with its concrete flooring. Roxas’ house had hardwood that was more hard than wood. No one knew what Hayner’s bedroom floor looked like, not with all the junk that was always on it. Olette had wooden floors like Roxas but had livened it with a plush rug that was, unfortunately, white and if Roxas wasn’t covered in dirt or sweat, he tended to be holding an icecream and none of those combined well with a white rug. 

And so, Pence’s floor it was, as scratchy as the carpet was. 

“You right there?” Olette asked as she came to sit next to him, Roxas absently staring at the ceiling, his finished homework stacked in a pile beside him. Across from them, Hayner and Pence were still going - Hayner behind and Pence nose deep in a computing textbook. 

“I’m good,” Roxas murmured, groaning when Olette poked his shoulder.

“You’re so sour,” she teased. “Wanna do something?”

Roxas tilted his head back a tad. “Do you?”

“Not really. Just thought I’d ask.”

“I’m good here,” he admitted, getting a smile and a nod. 

They sat in silence for awhile longer, Hayner slowly getting more and more frustrated. Roxas bit back a smirk there, turning his attention to Olette and watching her let her hair down from the bun she’d had it in while they studied.

“How do you do your hair?”

The words were out of his mouth before Roxas even realised, Olette blinking at him. “You wanna do my hair Roxas?”

He glanced at Hayner and Pence, wondering if he’d get laughed at, but they were just watching the interaction, completely judgement free. He shrugged. “I don’t know. But I guess...I mean, obviously I’ve never had to do it to myself.”

Olette laughed, guiding him up and handing him her hairband. “Okay, but only ‘cause it’s you Roxas.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hayner demanded, Olette just poking her tongue out at him. 

“Like I’d trust you.”

Hayner grumbled under his breath while Pence laughed. Oletted opened her laptop and flipped to a tutorial video that was labelled “easy”. Half an hour later they hadn’t left and while Roxas could now do plaits, he’d only managed an upside down braid once and even then that had been on accident. 

“How did you do it the wrong way?” Olette had demanded. “This is supposed to be the harder version!”

“I don’t know!” Roxas had cried, tying it off with a chuckle.

Failing one more time, Roxas admitted defeat, slumping down and passing the scrunchie back. He wasn’t ready for Olette to smile at him a little too brightly. “Your turn Roxas.”

“Me?”

“Roxas doesn’t even have hair!” Pence pointed out.

“Hey I have more than you!” he countered, Hayner nodding. 

“At least let me try?” Olette asked, Roxas relenting. “Okay, but...Hayner, come over here. Lemme see where you’re stuck.”

Hayner pouted at being called out but _did_ come and sit next to him. They worked through the problems together, Roxas occasionally wincing or being pulled back as Olette did something. She seemed to be making some sort of...hair crown?, if Roxas had to guess but from the increasingly deep frown on her face, it wasn’t working. 

“Fine, I gave up,” she said, just as Hayner finished off the last question. “It’s just that little bit too short. Come summer’s end, I’ll get it.” She waggled a finger at him. “You better not get it cut before then.”

Roxas held his hands up in surrender. “Don’t worry; I won’t!”

“Good.”

“Cool,” Hayner said, butting in. “So if we’re done, can we watch a movie now?”

“Only if you make the popcorn.”

“Deal!”

***

(102)

“Ah nuts.”

Roxas stared at the empty cupboard and it stared back at him. He was contemplating skipping breakfast all together and just waiting until school lunch break but then his stomach gave a traitorous growl and yeah, he wasn’t going to make it. Sighing, Roxas hefted his school bag onto his back and collected his skateboard from beside the door. Stuffing his shoes on, he ensured everything was locked up before heading down the road, coming to a stop three streets over and rapping on a very familiar door. 

“Heya Roxas.”

He offered what he hoped was a pitiable enough smile. “So, uh...I’m out of cereal.”

Hayner rolled his eyes. “Come on, get inside.”

He did.

(It also didn’t escape his notice that the first thing they did after school was go grocery shopping.)

***

(117)

Roxas kind of got it. While they weren’t necessarily badly behaved kids, they did skate where you weren’t supposed to skate, were late to school at least twice a week, stayed out later than was probably acceptable for their age and, oh yeah, had a reputation for constantly jumping the “keep out” signs so they could sit atop the station’s clock tower. So _maybe_ they didn’t steal or start fights, but they were kind of nuisances. 

That being said, Roxas thought setting the Neighbourhood Disciplinary Committee on them was probably a bit much. 

(To be honest, Roxas was inclined to agree with Hayner, who’d outright declared that no one had reported them and Seifer was just being a jerk. It didn’t sound so out of character.)

“I don’t even understand what we did,” Olette was saying.

“Knowing Seifer? Nothing,” Hayner scoffed.

“Yeah, but this isn’t from Seifer,” Pence pointed out.

“It’s from his committee! That he runs,” Hayner said, folding his arms. “A million munny he just made it up.”

“Roxas?” Olette called. “What do you think?”

Roxas rubbed his chin in thought, frowning. “Well, I’m actually with Hayner. It’s not like we’ve done anything crazy lately. Or anything we wouldn’t normally do.”

“See?” Hayner crowed, puffing his chest out proudly. “I knew it was all a hoax.”

Pence rolled his eyes. “That’s just Roxas’ opinion.”

Roxas then jumped as Hayner slung an arm over his shoulders. “Yeah, and since when is Roxas wrong?”

“Oh so now he’s always right,” Olette said, poking her tongue. “Does that mean he’s been right every time he’s called you a bonehead?”

“Evidence would say yes,” Roxas teased even as Hayner was squawking.

“Oh come on, you’re all mean to me!”

“Name one time I’ve been mean to you.”

Hayner’s jaw dropped but then he was laughing, everyone else joining in. And just like that, thoughts of Seifer dropped from their minds and everything went back to normal.

***

(144)

“And I never knew you could be such a selfish bonehead!”

“Oh rich! You’re calling me that?”

“Do you see anyone else here?”

“Yeah, well at least I’m not the one that was stupid enough to get us into the fight in the first place!”

“Okay, you know what? Get outta my face Roxas. I’m done with you.”

“Like I’d wanna be near your face anyway!”

“H-Hayner, Roxas, enough! Don’t-...Hey, both of you get back here!”

***

(144.5)

“H-Hey Hayner...I...Look, I…”

“Me too.”

“No, wait! I…” Roxas purposefully made sure their eyes met. “I’m sorry.”

Hayner smiled sadly. “Yeah, guess I’m sorry too. For the record, you’re an awesome friend.”

Roxas laughed awkwardly, clambering over the window ledge when Hayner opened it far enough. Hayner took one look at his wet clothes before rolling his eyes. He rummaged around through his drawers before pulling out a plain tshirt and some black sweats. 

“Here. Put those on and hopefully your clothes will dry overnight.”

“Hope so,” Roxas said, nose crinkling as he pulled the wet fabric off. He tugged on Hayner’s before joining him on the bed, smacking him with a pillow when Hayner refused to let him under the covers. “Come on man, don’t be a jerk!”

“I’m not the one who invited themself over!” Hayner pointed out, though he let Roxas in without too much grumbling. 

“To be fair, I did come over to apologise.”

Hayner narrowed his eyes. “Really? Or was it to steal a warm bed?”

Roxas laughed. “You’ll never know, will you?”

***

(145)

Roxas was awoken by the sound of Hayner’s younger brother and sister screaming at each other from either side of the bathroom door. If that wasn’t bad enough, his older sister was downstairs, yelling at them both and telling them they had two minutes to knock it off before she came up there. Roxas took it that that was a bad thing. And apparently so did Hayner’s siblings, immediately going quiet.

For ten seconds.

Hayner groaned, Roxas laughing even as he was forced into the pillow by a disgruntled blond. “Next time we do this,” he said, “We’re doing it at yours.”

Roxas’ mouth opened before another shriek came from downstairs. Okay, that actually sounded fair enough.

***

(191)

Roxas would admit, when he and Hayner had agreed on the next time being in Roxas’ bed, he had imagined them bunking together because they’d been up too late playing video games. He hadn’t imagined - nor had Hayner - that it would be because they’d be together on the bed, lights off, shirts off, messily making out. They hadn’t expected to be grinding their hips together, breath panting, until they’d come in their pants like the teenagers they were. 

But that’s what had happened.

And Roxas wouldn’t change it for the world. Hayner too.

***

(206)

“So...are we gonna talk about this?”

Hayner looked up from his lunch, Roxas looking out into the distance. They were seated atop the school roof, Pence and Olette doing some early research on an assignment Roxas knew he and Hayner were going to leave until the last minute. 

Hayner shifted his weight. “Talk about what?”

Roxas just gave him a look. 

“Fine,” Hayner grumped, placing down his chopsticks and pulling Roxas towards him by the arm. “What do you want me to say? You’re a cool dude? Hot? I like you?”

Roxas flushed scarlett, yanking his arm away. “S-stop.”

“You asked,” came the reply, followed by a roll of the eyes.

Roxas huffed. “I mean, yeah, but...Do you really feel those things?”

“You _don’t_?” Hayner challenged.

“No, I do!” Roxas said quickly.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I never said there was a problem! Just that we should talk about it.”

“Okay, we talked about it,” Hayner drawled, returning to his lunch. “So I guess it just comes down to whether you wanna date me or not.”

Roxas blinked. “You...You wanna date me?”

Hayner groaned. “Roxas, come _on_! Even I know that’s the national progression of this.”

“Wow, where do you get off using a five munny word like that?” Roxas teased. All he got was a flat look in return, causing him to hunker down, drawing his knees up. “But I mean, yeah.”

“Yeah?” Hayner scoffed, elbowing him. “What kind of response is that?”

Roxas shoved him back. “Fine. Yes, I wanna date you Hayner. That good enough?”

Hayner grinned, Roxas returning it helplessly. “That’s perfect Roxas.”

***

(239)

There were days where Roxas would just wake up...sad. He didn’t know why and a part of him felt bad about that; like he should know. But no matter how much he thought on it or tried to trace the feeling, he couldn’t find a cause or a place where it stemmed from. It was like coming to an emotional dead end.

Still, this time had hit him pretty bad. To the point where Roxas had blown everyone off in the morning and preferred to stay in bed until mid-afternoon. At the very least, it was a Sunday so he hadn’t skipped school. If he’d done that, alarm bells really _would_ have gone off. With it being Sunday, he could try and pretend it was just because he was lazy. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his friends, he just wanted to be alone right now. For awhile, anyway. 

He did manage to convince himself to get out of bed finally, feet sliding into shoes and mindlessly trekking through the streets of Twilight Town. It shouldn’t have been too surprising that his feet took him to the station, and specifically the tower. Roxas allowed himself a tiny huff of a laugh. It was always here.

Sitting down on the edge, Roxas gazed into the distance. In his head, he could almost imagine the sound of the ocean, tears pricking at his eyes unconsciously.

“Ha, told you! I knew he’d be-”

“Hayner, wait,” Pence hushed, Roxas jumping even as Olette’s hand came to rest on his shoulder.

“Hey, you okay Roxas? You’re crying.”

Roxas quickly swiped at his eyes, trying for a smile. “Yeah, I...Sorry guys.”

“What are you saying sorry to us for?” Hayner asked, taking a seat next to him and joining him in staring at the horizon. “You know you can cry, right?”

“Oh,” Roxas said, eyes dropping. “I guess I just...didn’t want to bother you.”

“Don’t be silly, you’re not a bother,” Olette scolded, taking Hayner’s other side while Pence took Roxas’.

“And hey, maybe we can help,” Pence offered. “Or, if you don’t want to tell us, we’ll just sit with you.”

Roxas felt his heart clench guiltily. “What if I don’t know why…?”

“Then that’s okay too!” Pence said. “Reason or not, if you’re sad, be sad! Sometimes you just need to be. I don’t think anyone can be happy all the time.”

Roxas chuckled there, nodding just once. Hayner’s hand casually slid to rest atop of his and it made him think, maybe having friends wasn’t that bad after all.

***

(258)

Roxas dodged another child holding an ice-cream, laughing as Pence tried to copy the manoeuvre and nearly ended up falling flat on his face. Hayner laughed, Olette just sighing. The commons were bustling with people despite the late hour, everyone celebrating Twilight Town’s annual summer solstice. Pence joined them with an awkward chuckle. “Wow, there sure are a lot of people here.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this busy before,” Olette commented. 

“Just means we have to get up high to see the fireworks,” Hayner said airily, waving a hand. 

Roxas shrugged when the others turned to him. “Sure but there’s also lots to do before that.” He pointed to an area mostly obscured by an alley. “Have we been down there yet?”

“Huh, don’t think so,” Pence said. “Come on, let’s see what’s down that way!”

Despite it not being his idea, Hayner led the way, dashing through the crowd and causing them to yell after him and try to catch up. Roxas managed to swipe at his collar, though Hayner ducked out of his grip and responded by maturely sticking his tongue out. It turned out that the alley opened up into a small courtyard filled with street performers. Roxas was drawn to a man juggling fire, laughing in awe while Olette clutched at the sleeve of his shirt.

“I could do that,” Hayner scoffed, Roxas rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, how about you don’t try.”

“We don’t need this night to end early Hayner,” Olette added teasingly. 

Hayner folded his arms petulantly but no one entertained him, dragging him away to other street performers. Eventually he warmed back up, dragging Roxas forward when a dance started in the street adjacent. Roxas dug his heels in and shook his head adamantly. Hayner’s eyes lit up. 

“What’s wrong Roxas? Can’t dance?”

“Can _you_?” Roxas challenged.

Hayner abruptly skidded to a halt, stumbling over his feet. Roxas chuckled under his breath, Hayner hesitating before doing the same. Olette and Pence had already joined the dance, waving at them jovially. Roxas waved back before weaving through the crowd to a pretzel stand, Hayner at his side. He bought two before allowing Hayner to take his hand and lead them to the roof of a nearby building. They sat there together, legs hanging over the edge.

“Hey you two, get down here!” Pence yelled.

“Not a chance,” Roxas replied.

Olette eyed them up, hands on hips before sighing and wagging a finger at them. “Fine, but you’ll meet us at the station in an hour, alright? No missing the finale!”

“We won’t!” Hayner assured. His gaze flicked to Roxas. “Right?”

Roxas grinned, head thunking onto Hayner’s shoulder. “Right.”

***

(264)

Slipping on his shoes and slinging his backpack over his shoulder, Roxas looked up to find Olette standing there, Pence just behind her. There was a frown on her face and Roxas was hastily trying to think about what he might have done to incur her wrath. Hayner came up behind him, shrugging a hoodie on over his school jacket and passing Roxas his skateboard. He raised an eyebrow at the situation before him.

“Everything okay?”

“It is,” Olette said easily, before jabbing them both in the chest. “Although we wish you two had just told us!”

“Huh?” Roxas asked, Hayner and Pence slapping their foreheads.

“Ugh, why are you so dense?” Hayner groaned. “She _means_ we didn’t tell them we were dating.”

“Oh.” Roxas flushed, scratching at his neck awkwardly. “Um, my bad?”

Olette laughed. “Roxas, you’re hopeless.”

“You’re not mad though, right?” he pressed.

“Of course not,” Pence said, hands lacing behind his head. “Like Olette said, you should have just told us.”

“Why? It’s not like we don’t wanna hang out with you,” Hayner pointed out, nudging them all out of the school entry and towards their homes.

“We know that, we just wanted you to know that you don’t have to keep secrets,” Olette answered, tugging on Hayner’s hair, making him squawk.

“Yeah, we just wanna support you!” Pence added.

Something in that made Roxas’ feet stop, causing Hayner to groan, slipping away from Olette and wrapping an arm around Roxas’ shoulders. Pence and Olette immediately came back too, pulling them all into an awkward four-way hug. Roxas didn’t care. It was the best he’d felt in weeks. 

*** 

(283)

Roxas jumped back, dodging left before lashing out. Hayner managed to block him, Olette cheering from the side while Pence’s attention was locked on his phone and the game he was playing. Roxas swung the bat around once more, this time catching Hayner in the chest. His boyfriend wheezed as he was pushed back. He came back fiercer than ever, Roxas barely managing to keep up. He then slipped and Hayner used that to knock him onto his back.

“Give up Roxas?”

Roxas slapped the offered hand away, even though he was smiling. “Never!”

Hayner’s mouth was opened, ready to respond when he was cut off by another party. “Heh, look at what these losers are up to.”

Roxas looked up to see Seifer and his gang there, scrambling to his feet and coming to stand at Hayner’s side. “What do you want?”

Seifer gave him a patronising look. “Why the attitude Roxas? I can’t do my job?”

“Tell him,” Fuu said, Rai nodding.

“Seifer’s keeping this neighbourhood safe, you know?”

“Alright,” Olette said, coming between them. “You’ve seen what they’re up to Seifer so maybe now you can leave.”

Seifer scowled. “You telling me what to do?”

Hayner put an arm across Olette’s chest, staring Seifer down. “You don’t talk to her like that. You wanna settle this, let’s settle this.”

“Fine,” Seifer agreed, snatching Roxas’ struggle bat out of his hand. “Show me what you got, loser.”

Roxas didn’t even have time to tell Hayner what a bad idea this was before Hayner was surging forward, him and Seifer quickly descending into a fierce battle. Pence pulled Roxas back, keeping him on the sidelines with a hand around his arm. Roxas still itched to move, though he understood the need for fairness. Plus there was the issue of Hayner’s pride, which also had to be preserved.

It was all going as well as it probably could have until one hit from Seifer sent Hayner stumbling backwards. That alone would have been fine, except for the fact that it knocked Hayner into a nearby bench and there was a sickening crack as he went down. Seifer froze, Olette and Pence running over as Hayner nursed his clearly broken arm. If Seifer was going to apologise, he didn’t get the chance because Roxas was already launching on him, struggle bat in hand.

Minutes later, Seifer was on the ground, beaten to high hell, while Roxas was slipping an arm around Hayner and helping him to his feet. “C’mon guys, let’s get out of here.”

***

(326)

Any other time, they probably would have been ashamed by the amount of mess littering the floor. In their defence, it was Hayner’s room so it wasn’t so different to usual. Also, it was a Friday night and they’d just had a week of exams. There was nothing more any of them wanted to do than lounge around and play video games. Various snacks and beverages were par for the course. 

“Roxas, you’re up!” Hayner called, passing over the controller.

Roxas leant over the side of the bed, taking the controller from Hayner and letting Olette decide their next map.

“Any preferences Roxas?” Olette asked.

Roxas scrunched up his nose, knowing Olette was better than all of them at this game. She knew it too, asking more to rile him up than anything else. Roxas just waved her away. “Like you’re gonna lose.”

“Hey, come on,” Pence whined. “Don’t count us out! You got this Roxas.”

“I’m not too proud to know when I’ve lost,” Roxas said. Still, he pressed “play”. After all, it never hurt to try.

***

(331)

“Roxas! Have a minute?”

Roxas flipped his board up, tucking it into his side. He walked over to where Ms. Shigeru was waving at him. He found her staring at a boarded up building. 

“What’s wrong Ms. Shigeru?” he asked, concern making his brow furrow. 

“Nothing’s wrong Roxas,” she assured. “I’m just starting to get my store set up. But I’m having trouble carting all this wood away. Would you be able to help?”

Roxas thought for a moment before nodding. “Sure.”

It took him several hours but it was a job well done, causing Roxas to walk away with a new set of wheels for a skateboard and a photograph of himself and Ms. Shigeru hanging up within her store.

***

(367)

“That’s no fair!”

Roxas laughed even as Hayner pouted. “How is it not fair?”

“You can’t use two,” Hayner criticised, taking one of the struggle bats out of his hands. “It’s one and you know it.”

“Still, he seemed pretty confident with two,” Pence remarked.

“Yeah, like Roxas is a natural,” Olette added.

“Hayner’s right though. It _is_ against the rules. It’s not like I could use it in the tournament.”

“The tournament I’m going to smoke you in, right?” Hayner boasted.

Roxas just sent him a pitying look. “I’d like to see you try.”

“You wanna fight?!”

“That’s what we were doing...Until you took my bat off me.”

Hayner pointed a finger at him. “I took _one_ of your bats off you. You can still fight me with one.”

“Or I could teach you how to use two?” Roxas offered, because it _had_ come naturally to him, even if he didn’t know why. 

Hayner looked all set to refuse before pausing and shrugging. “Actually, you know what, that could be fun. Alright Roxas, show me your moves!”

Hayner would regret those words half an hour later but he didn’t regret them when it meant Roxas took pity on him and not only bought him dinner, but let him use him as a backrest when they did their homework later.

***

(388)

Roxas jumped in his chair when a foot slammed into his shin. Roxas scowled at Hayner in front of him, who was sending him a crooked smile over his shoulder. “ _What_?” Roxas hissed but got nothing more than a piece of paper in return. Sighing, Roxas unfolded the note, scrutinising the writing and wondering how on earth any of their teachers could decipher Hayner’s handwriting. 

_ Bathroom in ten. _

Roxas frowned, kicking Hayner’s chair and getting no response. Growling under his breath, Roxas waited until the ten minutes were up before asking if he could be excused. He got a nod and headed down the hall, leaning against the wall by the bathroom door, no idea what Hayner had in store. Not three minutes later, Hayner popped out of the classroom, grinning at Roxas and grabbing him by the hand, hauling him down the corridor.

“C’mon Roxas!”

“Hayner, wait. Where are we going?” Roxas asked, confused.

Hayner shrugged, pushing him into the entryway and opening their shoe lockers, passing Roxas his shoes. “Anywhere we want.”

“Hayner, we’re supposed to be in _class_ ,” Roxas hissed.

“We can do class any time,” Hayner insisted, Roxas reluctantly swapping his school shoes out for his outdoor ones. “But you know, I just felt like spending the day with you.”

That made Roxas blush to the roots of his hair, even if his chest flooded with warmth. He took Hayner’s hand and they snuck around the side of the building, finding an area of the school fence that they could climb with the help of a tree. Roxas swung over first, Hayner following behind him. They walked down to the nearest train station, swiping their cards through the turnstile and waiting on the platform. 

“So, what did you have planned?” Roxas asked. 

Hayner shrugged easily. “Nothing really. You?”

“Well I kinda just had this thrust upon me,” he replied with a laugh. “But I’ve always wanted to go to the beach.”

“Me too,” Hayner lamented. “But, and you didn’t hear it from me, Olette has big plans for the end of summer vacation.”

“Ah. What about heading up the hill?”

Hayner tapped his chin in thought. “Okay, sounds good! But we’re buying some ice-cream on the way. I’m hungry!”

Roxas didn’t doubt it, pulling them onto the train as it arrived and leaning against the railing as he waited for their stop to come up. “What about we get something to drink too?”

“We may as well just get lunch if we’re doing all that,” Hayner said, bumping his hip against Roxas’.

“Lunch-to-go?”

“Sure, why not? Best idea you’ve had all day.”

Roxas snorted. “Better than any of yours.”

Hayner didn’t bother answering, just tugged Roxas off as they reached the terrace. Their hands found each other’s again and they traversed the local bistros, finding a cafe that suited their tastes. They ordered, got a knowing wink from the owner, and soon left with their lunch. Finding a comfortable spot atop Sunset Hill, Roxas split the lunch before flopping onto his back, watching the clouds move across the sky.

“Anything interesting up there?” Hayner asked, taking a sip of his milkshake. 

Roxas hummed noncommittally. “Come here?”

Hayner frowned, leaning over Roxas. “Why?”

“Huh, now there’s something interesting there.”

Hayner flicked him in the forehead. “You’re so lame Roxas.”

Roxas didn’t agree but he kept that to himself. The rest of the afternoon passed in much the same fashion, the two of them talking about anything and everything, the odd teasing comment thrown in here and there. There were also light kisses exchanged, some more fumbling than others but it wasn’t as though they cared. They only broke apart when Hayner’s phone went off, Hayner pulling it out and Roxas leaning over his shoulder both to gauge the time and the caller. It seemed as though school was out and Pence was calling; most likely he and Olette had just realised they were missing. 

“You better answer it,” Roxas murmured, even as he pressed one last kiss to Hayner’s ear.

Hayner shivered, shoving him away and rubbing his ear petulantly. He then answered. “Hey Pence, what’s up!”

***

(395)

“Hayner, we can’t do this here.”

Hayner didn’t answer, probably because his mouth was currently occupied. Roxas had to bite back a hiss when Hayner did something particularly talented with his tongue. Roxas’ hands scrambled at the wall behind him.

“Hayner, c’mon…”

Roxas’ words had no effect and he could only hope no one rounded the corner to the bike racks soon. At least he and Hayner were some of the last people at school, given that they’d just gotten out of detention.

He came back when Hayner pinched his thigh. Roxas dutifully returned his attention, intertwining his fingers with Hayner’s just before he lost control, swallowing back a moan as he came. Hayner pulled away with a proud smirk, wiping his mouth clean and taking a swig from his water bottle. He went to stand when Roxas hauled him up, pinning Hayner to the school building and sliding his hand down his trousers. 

“My turn.”

***

(419)

Roxas looked up from his homework as the sky turned that unique purple glow he had come to associate with sunset. He snapped his textbook shut, pushing out his desk chair and clambering across his bed. Opening the window, Roxas settled in on the window ledge, letting the sea air brush over him. The first stars started to appear in the sky but Roxas wasn’t interested in that, eyes instead locked on the train tracks that travelled closest to his house and disappeared out into the horizon.

As if on cue, from the distance came a train, different to all the other ones in Twilight Town. Instead of being brown, the carriages were blue and decorated with ornate stars and crescent moons. 

Roxas watched the train pass, eyes lingering on the smoke that puffed out of the smoke stack. As always, the carriages themselves seemed to be empty. Roxas followed the train until it disappeared from sight, disappearing into town, where - Roxas knew - no one would ever see it or mention it. 

“What are you?” he wondered aloud. “And...where are you going?”

One day Roxas hoped he’d find out.

***

(424)

“You ever think about the difference between love and like?”

Roxas blinked, peering up at Hayner from where he was resting on his chest. “I guess.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, I like Pence and Olette. And I probably love you.”

“ _Probably_?” Hayner demanded, jerking upright and effectively dislodging Roxas. There was then a mad scramble as Roxas nearly fell off the bed, the two of them collapsing back together seconds later. “Ah, I take it back. I probably love you too.”

“Jerk.”

***

(446)

They were all sitting on top of Station Tower once more, ice-creams in hand and feet swinging back and forth. As usual, Hayner and Roxas were in the middle, Olette and Pence flanking them. The two’s fingers were intertwined, Olette’s head on Roxas’ shoulder. She looked up when Hayner nudged him. 

“Hey, you’ve off today. Wanna tell us why?”

Roxas frowned, shrugging a shoulder, eyes drifting to the sky. “No reason. I’ve just been thinking.”

“Thinking? That’s not like you,” Hayner mocked, Roxas slapping him as Pence laughed. 

“Thinking about anything in particular?” Olette asked, drawing the conversation back to its original line of thought.

“Kind of. But not really.”

“Okay now you’re just being cryptic,” Pence accused. 

Roxas didn’t answer that, just worried his bottom lip between his teeth. He didn’t have to look to know the others were exchanging looks over his head. “Sorry. I’m being a downer.”

“Stop that,” Hayner snapped before he could even get started. “How many times do we have to tell you, Roxas? You’re allowed to have feelings and we wanna hear about them!”

Roxas smiled, small as it was. “Thanks Hayner.”

“And you’re still dodging the question,” Olette said, poking his cheek.

He swatted her away, finishing off his ice-cream and chewing on the end of the stick absently. “I just...Do you guys ever wonder if there are other worlds out there?”

Hayner furrowed his brow. “Other worlds? What are you on about?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled, shoulders curling in a little. “Just...Maybe there’s more than...this.”

“And what’s wrong with this?” Hayner challenged, gesturing out across the town.

“Nothing!” Roxas defended, hands flying up.

“I get what he means though,” Olette said. “I mean, your parents are across the ocean, right? So there must be something else out there.”

“A big jump from another island to another world,” Pence argued. “Maybe we should dream about crossing the ocean before we, you know, leave the planet.”

“I never said I wanted to leave,” Roxas whispered, Hayner sighing.

“Roxas, we know. But I think Pence is right. But even then I don’t care,” he declared, getting to his feet and bringing Roxas up with him. “For now, I just want to enjoy the time we have together. Come on; race you to the usual spot!”

With that he took off, Olette and Roxas exclaiming in alarm. Pence just groaned but they all gathered their belongings and followed in Hayner’s footsteps. After all, he wasn’t wrong. What mattered the most was the here and now.

***

(472)

Roxas had never really felt cold before. Twilight Town wasn’t known for its freezing weather, not even in winter, and the school and their houses had excellent heating systems. Even the trains were heated. Which was why it was so weird that every time Roxas caught a glimpse of that mansion out in the woods, he would feel a chill that went right down to his bones. It made his body shake with its ferocity and he had to clench his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering. He’d never felt anything so cold before, so foreign. There was something beneath it too, something like sadness or loneliness.

Needless to say, he avoided the mansion as much as he could.

It also made him curious though because those white creatures suddenly appearing around Twilight Town? They made him feel the same way.

***

(498)

“How’s he doing Hayner?”

“Same as the past few days. Any luck with his parents?”

“Unfortunately not,” Pence said, joining the conversation. “It keeps going to voicemail.”

“Are you serious?” Hayner hissed. ‘“It’s been _three days_ and he’s not getting any better! Don’t they care?”

“That’s not for us to judge,” Olette murmured, coming to sit beside Roxas and resting a hand on his forehead. Roxas leant into the touch ever so slightly. “Hey Roxas. Feeling any better?”

Roxas tried to answer but little more than a moan escaped. Hayner nudged Olette away, resting his own hand on Roxas’ cheek. “Come on man, you gotta pull through this.”

“Hayner, he’s not _that_ sick,” Pence chastised.

Roxas was inclined to agree except he could barely open his eyes. “Sick enough!” Hayner snapped. “I just...I hate seeing him like this.”

“Hayner…” Olette’s voice softened. “He’ll be okay. Why don’t you and Pence see if those remedies came in yet?”

Hayner grumbled but it seemed action was better than inaction and he left the bed, door slamming behind him. Olette sighed, brushing Roxas’ hair off his forehead and tutting at the sweat matting the strands. “He misses you,” she whispered. “Hayner will never say it out loud, but he needs you Roxas.”

Roxas wanted to say he felt the same but his head was too full of other thoughts, which was probably what made him say, “Olette do you...do you know Sora?”

“Sora?” Olette repeated. “Who’s that Roxas?”

“He’s...Sora,” Roxas slurred. “I see him in my dreams.”

It was possible to almost hear Olette frowning. “Is he someone you used to know?”

“Kairi knows him,” was Roxas’ answer.

“Kairi?” Olette asked, sounding increasingly worried. Her relief was palpable when Hayner returned, Pence out of breath behind him. They must have sprinted the entire way, there and back. “Hayner, there was no need to rush.”

He didn’t answer, just handed the remedy over. Olette helped Roxas up, managing to get him to take a few sips before Roxas was too out of it to take more. “Sleep well Roxas. We love you.”

Olette left, Hayner huffing and leaning down, lips brushing against his ear. “Whatever she says, I love you more.”

A smile formed on his face unbidden. “Thanks Hayner.”

***

(500)

_ “Sora...You’re lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is...over.” _

  
  


***

(+1)

Sora looked up from the seashells he was explaining to Ventus - hey, different types of shells had different names - at an odd sound. It was almost a laugh but not. He found the noise to be coming from the bridge nearby and it _had_ to be Roxas laughing because Sora had heard Hayner laugh before and he did not sound like that.

Hayner had broken away from where Pence and Olette were building a snowman out of sand and had joined Roxas. He seemed to be, for all intents and purposes, harassing Roxas. Although, Sora would be the first to admit, it wasn’t too hard to harass Roxas. But then again, it took Sora a moment to realise but, for once, it didn’t look as though Roxas _minded_ too much that Hayner was bothering him. Sora had seen Roxas smile before but it was nothing compared to the one he was giving Hayner now. No, this smile was accompanied by crinkled eyes and a scrunched up nose. 

Sora couldn’t help but smile himself - hey, Roxas was pretty cute in a grumpy way and his smile was infectious.

Roxas then yelped as Hayner elbowed him, though he followed it up with a chuckle.

“ _Tell me,_ ” Hayner was insisting.

Roxas merely shook his head. “Nope. It doesn’t matter.”

“Hey, it matters! Because it’s you and you matter,” Hayner countered, Sora approving because Roxas needed to hear that.

Roxas gaped at Hayner for a second before dropping his chin to his chest and wait, were his cheeks pink? Sora thought that they were. Huh. Before Sora could think on that further, Roxas lifted his head again and muttered something that made Hayner splutter. Roxas snickered before making to pass him. He got as far as one step before Hayner whipped around, hand snapping up Roxas’ wrist. The next second Hayner yanked Roxas in, kissing him soundly. Sora’s jaw dropped open even as Roxas curled his fists into Hayner’s jacket. He returned the kiss as best he could amongst laughs.

“You’re a dork,” Roxas scoffed as he pulled away, words losing all effect when Hayner slid an arm around his shoulders and he lit up. 

“Yeah, you too,” Hayner mocked and Sora quickly looked away, feeling as though he’d witnessed something he shouldn’t have. Still, Sora couldn’t help but be happy. After all, Roxas deserved everything and then some.

***

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed!! Just doing my bit to add to the limited Hayner/Roxas content here, haha. .xx Dan


End file.
